This invention relates to an improvement in the design of plasma devices. In particular, it is useful in reactors designed to effect controlled thermonuclear fusion.
The design of a reactor for containing and utilizing controlled thermonuclear fusion must include a means of solving the problem created by the intense and high-speed temperature pulse that proceeds radially outward from the plasma of a fusion reaction. The geometric decrease in energy density with distance makes it appealing to space components as far as possible from the site of a fusion reaction. However, it is often necessary to place components, for such purposes as containment, cooling channels, and implosion, in relatively close proximity to the fusion reaction.
The present approach to controlled thermonuclear fusion envisions the introduction of a relatively small volume of gas or solid pellets of a fusionable material into a reaction location. Fuel is typically a mixture of deuterium and tritium, introduced and ignited into fusion by means such as a laser pulse, an intense electron or ion beam or a wave from a magnetic implosion coil. Whatever the ignition means, it must be sufficiently close to the fuel to ignite the fusion reaction and it must thereafter be protected sufficiently from the plasma resulting from that reaction sufficiently so that it can function again with succeeding charges. The igniting or containing mechanism or both need protection from the pulse that follows ignition of the fusion reaction, and the plasma must be protected from contamination due to sputtering.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the operation of devices containing plasmas.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective barrier between components on the inside of a plasma device designed for controlled thermonuclear fusion and the plasma pulse associated with the fusion reaction.
It is a further object to provide a dummy wall in a fusion reactor to absorb the energy pulse from the fusion reaction.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bumper wall to serve as readily replaceable inner wall in a plasma device.
It is a further object to protect a plasma from atoms of high atomic number that may be sputtered or otherwise released into the plasma.
Other objects will become evident in the course of a detailed description of the invention.